In an astonishing turn of events, Novak Djokovic lost out in the last-16 of Rolex Monte Carlo Masters. Calling it “One Of the Worst Performances” of his life, the Serbian bowed out of the Championship.
The ATP world number 1 lost out to the Briton, Daniel Evans by 4-6, 5-7 sets. This massive upset shocks the tennis fans, pundits, all around the world.
The EVO-lution is here 😳
Dan Evans beats Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5 to make the @ROLEXMCMASTERS quarter-finals 👏 pic.twitter.com/k6GPHGYWZs
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 15, 2021
Novak qualified for the last-16 after beating Italian Jannik Sinner in his last round. However, the Serb could not continue his winning run and crashed out.
Talking to the media after the match, the 33-year-old player conveyed, “To be honest, I mean, this has been probably one of the worst matches and performances from my side I can recall in the last years. I don’t want to take anything away from his win, but from my side, I just felt awful on the court overall. Just nothing worked. It’s one of those days.”
Wind and Evans were too much for Novak Djokovic
Losing a prestigious tournament that too at this stage is certainly a big no-no for a player of his stature. However, Djokovic didn’t shy away from praising his opponent, Daniel Evans in this case.
The Australian Open Champion further asserted on Daniel, “It just was obviously very, very windy, tough to play in these kinds of conditions against a guy like Evans who makes you move. He’s very unpredictable with his shots. He dismantled my game.”
Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action during his quarterfinal match against Daniel Evans of Great Britain during day five of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 15, 202,1 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
During the ongoing press conference, Novak was asked if he was feeling a bit nervous being going into the game. There were also questions regarding his hunger for the win. In that regard, Djokovic replied, “I mean, I was just not feeling it, and playing pretty bad. Right now, as I walk off the court, I’m disappointed with the way I played, the way I felt on the court. But it’s a long clay season. Still plenty of tournaments, plenty of room to improve.”
Adding on, Djokovic returned to the court after taking a decent break with his family post-Australian Open. This was his first loss since losing to Dominic Thiem last year in ATP Tour Finals in London.
The fans and pundits from all over the world naturally expected the 18 times Grand Slam winner to continue his winning momentum and achieve further greatness only to come out short when he needed the most.
